The Pain in Her Ass
by MeryKey-7
Summary: Max gets shot... right on her buttcheek... this should be fun! MA friendship and mild romance


**Title**: The Pain in her Ass  
**Author**: MeryKey  
**Beta**: Kelsey  
**Rating**: Uhm... I don't know... there's some explicit... foreplay description although not as much to point of rating it **R**... **NC17** maybe... but a little less... shrugs  
**Genre**: Comedy/Friendship/Romance if you squint  
**Summary**: Max gets shot... right on her butt-cheek... this should be fun!  
**Author's Note**: This story's been in my head for about 6 or 7 months since I re-read one of the responces to BHG's challenge of: "Alec gets shot on the ass". I thought: Mmh... what if **Max** gets shot on the ass?? That would be even more hilarious!! So I've been working on it for about 4 to 5 months... yeah, I know what you're thinking: _5 months on a freaking standalone???!_ That's why I keep saying I'm lazy and slooooooow!! lol!

Anyway, as always, the story comes with a cover, but you will have to visit my LJ to take a look at it! Enjoy!!

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To say that she was royally pissed was a gross understatement. It was raining, her entire body ached and her ass was on fire from the entry wound of the bullet currently lodged inside her right butt cheek. She had been escaping on her motorcycle from the bad guys Logan had asked her some help with when a bullet had hit her rear tire, sending her and her beloved bike to the hard, cold pavement. She had several abrasions on her hands and legs, and a couple of small lacerations on her face from that initial collision. One was located over her right cheek and the other was above her left eye. They weren't bleeding too heavily now, thanks to her Transgenic fast healing DNA. The incident had been severe, but fortunately no bones had been broken in the process.

The moment she'd hit the ground she'd known she couldn't afford the luxury of falling unconscious, so as soon as felt the pavement against her body, she sprang up and ran into the dense forest underlining the dark, lonely road. Unfortunately, she hadn't blurred into the trees fast enough to dodge the bullets, for one grazed her left arm and another lodged itself inside her right buttock.

Charming.

Her cell phone hadn't suffered any damages so she immediately dialed Logan's number, still putting as much distance from the men with the stupid guns. His answering machine picked up and she frowned, annoyance taking the best of her.

"Logan, you there? Pick up right now. Logan?" She waited a few more moments and then flipped her phone closed with so much force she almost broke it. She had said she would check on the bad guys sometime between last night or today, so he should have been home, or at least had his cell on!

She stopped when she reached the city; she'd been able to cross a few sector check-points unnoticed, so she was now somewhere in sector 4, hiding in an alley and trying to catch her breath as the loss of blood started to catch up with her. She needed help, she knew that; as much as she tried, the wounds and resulting blood loss wouldn't let her pass any more sector check-points unnoticed. The pain on her legs and hips was also becoming unbearable every time she landed on the ground after taking a leap over the fence. Police officers were dense but the bruises and the blood on her face were something even they would notice.

Max tried Logan's cell again, but it was still off. She looked at her cell phone with great apprehension this time, and then she looked at her surroundings, hoping a solution would appear in front of her eyes. Anything so she wouldn't have to make the call she knew she would have to make. But there was nothing else, and no other option.

She opened the flip of her phone, which was a bit mangled, and dialed the one number she did **not** want to dial. She heard the phone ring once, twice, three times, and she was about to hung up when a husky, slightly agitated voice answered. "Yeah?"

"Alec, I need you to pick me up."

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Alec was at his place, enjoying the delightful company of 2C, his hot neighbor. She hadn't been interested in him until a few days ago when, according to her, she had dumped her lame-ass boyfriend. Although, she had become a master at flirting with him long before that. The heavy lidded stares and flirtatious comments on their many elevator rides proved she liked him, but she was the loyal type, apparently. So, as soon as she got rid of her ex boyfriend (though, Alec doubted it had been her who had done the dumping) she took flirting a step further and, God, yes! There they were.

Her back was lying against his couch, her head propped up by some cushions, as Alec found his place on top of her. Her shoes were lying somewhere on the floor along with his black t-shirt and her blouse, all completely forgotten. He was devouring her precious ruby lips, taking his time sucking her bottom lip. Something about that seemed to turn her on, because every time he did it a small moan would escape her mouth. His right hand was teasing her nipples while her legs tightened around his hips. He couldn't help moaning as her body pressed even more against his erection, depriving his brain of the little blood still flowing there; the rest had already traveled south.

In between this haze, Alec was able to here a ring—a ring he recognized as the one from his cell phone. It rang once, and he thought he ought to get it, but as 2C's hands started working on his jean's zipper, the thought was lost. It rang a second time, and he cursed, for they were about to start the fun part of their intimate encounter. A strong voice told his blood-deprived brain that it could be important. Alec pulled back from her lips as his phone rang a third time, and breathing heavily, while she complained about the separation, he said, "Just let me get that." He removed himself from her curvaceous body and looked for his jacket. He answered after the fourth ring. "Yeah?"

"Alec," said a female voice he knew so well. "I need you to pick me up."

Her words brought immediate concern to Alec; it wasn't every day Max called him to ask such a favor.

"You ok?" he asked.

She sighed, evaluating the situation, and decided that telling Alec about her wounds would not help her at all. "You could say so. I encountered some problems and I'm sorta in a lot of pain," she said. She tried to move her right shoulder but was only met by a terrible pain, which made her gasp sharply. Then she grit her teeth and added, "So, if you could drag your ass here, that would help me a lot," she finished, although her usually malicious tone was replaced by a rather civil one.

By the time she finished the sentence, Alec was already putting on his shoes, as 2C only stared at him.

"Just give me the address," he immediately said as he picked his shirt from the floor and strode towards the kitchen table where he had thrown his keys.

"Ok, I'll be there in ten," 2C overheard him inform whoever he was talking to, sounding quite concerned. He left the kitchen with his t-shirt already on and grabbed his jacket as he shoved his cell in the right pocket of his jeans. "I've got an emergency. Let yourself out," he commanded and left immediately, leaving a very horny, heavy breathing 2C still lying on his couch.

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Alec found Max hiding in a dark alley. It wasn't until he saw the state of her face that he became really concerned about the situation. She had cleaned the blood gushing from the cuts with some water from a hose that was lying on the street, but that didn't help with the fact that they seemed pretty deep. Her face was pale, which looked strange on her seeing as he was used to her darker shade of skin.

"What happened?" he asked, not bothering to conceal his concern.

Max noticed it but waved it off, telling herself that he was probably just curious. Who wouldn't be, really? She had called him at two o'clock in the morning, telling him to come and pick her up because she had encountered some problems. Besides, this must have been particularly interesting to him because this was the first time **he** had gotten **her** out of a jam.

"Well, the pavement was being a dick, so I had to teach him a lesson… with my face," she quipped.

"Right. That explains it," he responded sarcastically.

She couldn't help rolling her eyes in annoyance. Couldn't he simply help her out without asking too many questions? She knew exactly what he would say the moment she explained what had happened. Well, maybe not exactly, but she was sure he would respond with some wise-crack comment that would only earn him a nasty upper cut to the jaw.

"I'll explain later. Can we go?" she told him, dismissively.

He simply shrugged at her command, figuring it was one of Max's mood swings; although, he couldn't blame her. She looked like an eighteen wheeler had run her over; he could see an open laceration right above her left eye, which wasn't bleeding now but had probably bled pretty heavily, if the de-colorization of the skin around that area and below it was anything to go by. There was another one on her right cheek, though this one looked less deep, and it hadn't bled very much. She had a huge scratch on her left cheek, which looked quite painful. It wasn't until she began walking that he noticed there was something else; she winced as she took the first steps and walked in his direction with a slight limp. He searched all over her body for any sort of wound that could be causing this amount of pain to Max, but only found what seemed a bullet grace on her left upper arm.

"Did you get shot?" he finally questioned, seriousness painted on his face.

Her eyes traveled heaven-bound, as if she was cursing whoever was having a blast with her screwed up life. "Yes," she answered quite reluctantly.

He looked down at her legs, expecting to find her pants ripped and bloody from an entry wound, but he found nothing. He frowned at her. "Where?" he inquired.

Max took a deep breathe and looked everywhere expect Alec, surrendering herself to Alec's mercy.

"On my ass," she muttered.

Alec blinked. "Come again?"

"Shutup!" she spat through gritted teeth. She walked passed him, towards his bike, knowing perfectly well he had heard what she had said. She immediately stopped in her tracks as her mind replayed that line of thoughts.

"You brought your bike?" she asked, closing her eyes in protest.

"Yeah," he simply answered.

How was she supposed to ride a bike in the state her behind was?!

"Hey, how was I supposed to know you had gotten a shot on the ass?" he suddenly answered her silent question, taking her by surprise. "You didn't say anything when I asked over the phone," he finished.

She sighed both in exasperation and exhaustion. "Whatever," she muttered, "just drop me off by Harbor Lights to get some supplies, I'll take care of the rest."

"Max, do you have any idea how hard it is to get a bullet out of your body? Let alone out of you ass! I mean, you're flexible, but not made of rubber. So, don't worry; I've got it covered," he told her, his tone of voice giving her the comfort she never thought Alec could provide.

She frowned at him, his comment about getting the bullet out of her own ass not agreeing with her current mood. She was dying to smack him to death, but, unfortunately, he had a point; and a good one that is. In the end, she sighed in defeat, again. "Fine, but—If I hear even the slight attempt of a joke regarding this, I'll kick you ass so hard you won't even remember your designation!" she spat.

"Chill, Maxie. I promise: no jokes," he said, a rare sincerity on his eyes, though Max wasn't sure it was real. "Besides, if you kick my ass to oblivion, who's gonna save yours?"

Smack! He was asking for it! Max thought as her hand connected with the back of his head.

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Max walked into Alec's apartment, and a strange scent immediately invaded her senses. It seemed to be some sort of perfume, although it was obviously an imitation. She didn't like or appreciate perfumes. The fact that she could recognize people blindfolded by simply smelling their natural scent remember you dsignation!'t of a joke regarding this, I' a point. not agreeing with her current mood. ; though, she didn't actually; made perfumes and colognes quite an irritating experience for her senses. She didn't mention this or ask Alec about it because she was a bit preoccupied at the moment, concentrating on not feeling the pain irradiating from her right buttock to her lower back, right thigh and left buttock.

Alec didn't even attempt to help Max off of the bike, because he knew she would bite his hand off if he even attempted to. The ride had been a bumpy one, although he had tried to make it as smooth as possible; still, he could tell Max was in pain by the way her arms had tighten around his waist every once in a while. He knew she really didn't need the help; if she did, then she would ask, or at least indicate somehow that his assistance was required.

"You should take a shower first," he said as he closed the door to his apartment and threw the keys in the kitchen table. "To clean the wounds on… well, all the wounds, so we can start patching you up," he finished, his face as serious as it could get.

"Ok," she simply answered, as she headed towards his bathroom, still slightly limping. He could see where the bullet had taken residence in as she walked; it was bleeding, and he was sure she had bled all over his bike's seat. _I'll have to clean that in the morning_, Alec thought in annoyance. He suddenly witnessed as Max's entire body came to a halt.

Would she have to get naked for him to get the bullet out? Well, of course she would have to; after all, the bullet was not on an arm or a leg, it was right in the middle of her right butt-cheek!

He frowned at her still figure, sensing the tension on her shoulders, spreading all over her body. "What?" he asked, worrying the she might have felt dizzy or faint because of blood-loss.

"Uhm," she tried to reply. Her face was turning a shade of pink, a shade he couldn't see because he was facing her back. She shook her head slightly, feeling embarrassed for thinking that getting naked in front of Alec was her biggest problem at the moment. "My clothes are all dirty and ripped… and bloody," she finally said over her shoulder, an excuse to explain her sudden inability to move.

His eyebrows rose in even more confusion but, dismissing it all, he said: "No problem; I'll get you something to wear. Something comfortable."

"Ok," she replied, as the tension on her shoulders dissipated with every step she took towards the bathroom.

His eyes remained on her figure as she entered his bathroom and closed the door behind her. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he thought he had seen a slight blush on her cheeks as she answered over her shoulder. Alec dismissed it again, as he chuckled, turning away from the bathroom and into his room. Max wouldn't let her prudishness show now of all times, would she?

Two minutes later, after throwing his jacket over the couch, he emerged from his bedroom with a pair of new, black boxers and a grey t-shirt. He heard her turn on the shower and knocked on the door. Max snuck her head out of the bathroom, her hair long and messy.

"Here, you can put these on," he said as he handed her the items of clothing. A tanned, lean bare arm took his clothes and with a 'thanks' she closed the door again.

Max got rid of her underwear with great difficulty and jumped into Alec's shower. The cool stream of water fell over her hair, and then down her face, cleaning the remains of blood from the gashes. She cleaned the blood from her knuckles and arms, then legs and knees—every one of them was scratched. She found some nasty bruises around her midsection, but she knew for certain that they would be gone in a couple of days. Max had finally cleaned the wound on her buttock and was washing her muddy hair when she heard someone knocking at Alec's door. Her body tensed as her eyes darted towards the bathroom's door. What if they had been followed? It was 3.30 am; who in heaven's sake would be knocking at his door this late?

Alec's body tensed as well when he heard the knock at his door. The well-trained soldier in him grabbed his Glock and soundlessly approached the door to look through the peephole. Alec's shoulders slumped as his body relaxed; he had been expecting big, scary looking men, when he actually found a 5'5'', blonde haired, blue eyed 2C and her still ruby lips. He sighed; he should really ask her name.

Alec placed the Glock on the waistband of his jeans and threw his t-shirt on top of it.

"Hey," he greeted with a charming smile as he opened the door.

Max's stance relaxed as well when she heard him greet whoever was knocking on his door in such a laid-back way.

"Hey, yourself," 2C said with a sexy smile. Alec had to hold back an eye-roll because she sounded just like Max when she greeted Logan, except Max wasn't as lustful and explicit as 2C. The woman carried on. "I noticed your bike outside and I wanted to check if everything was ok."

His ability to read people had never let him down and he immediately knew 2C couldn't give a rat's ass if everything was ok, as long as **he** was alright enough to carry on with what they had been doing before they were interrupted.

"Yeah, everything's just peachy," he answered with a charming smile.

"What was so important that you had to leave in such a hurry?" she asked slowly, almost in a whisper that was meant to sound innocently sexy. Her body moved in a slow pace towards his, but he didn't budge, becoming an obstruction on 2C's plan of getting him to his couch again.

"A friend needed my help. It was pretty urgent," was his response. It was pretty obvious by the fact that his hand seemed glued to the door and that he wasn't giving her an inch of a chance to enter the apartment that Alec was not interested in whatever she was willing to offer. But she, either blinded by his smile or her libido, couldn't see this.

"A friend?" she inquired again, as her fingers made their way to his waistband.

It was amazing the way a soldier's mind works. 2C had been the only thing he could think of an hour and a half ago; her lips, her breasts, her hands, her legs—everything. But now all he could think of was helping Max and the Glock pressed against his lower back.

"Yeah, and my friend still needs—" he tried to finish but he was interrupted by a voice coming from the bathroom.

The door opened and Max left the bathroom preceded by steam the hot shower had created inside the room.

"Hey, we should do this in your bed; I think that's the best place… more comfortable than the couch, you know?" she said as she checked the pockets of her pants, which she was carrying in her hands. She made sure there was nothing of importance there before placing them in a garbage bag; they were a complete mess and impossible to repair.

Max really didn't notice the scene happening at the front door, because if she had she would've realized what her presence would have looked like for the lady trying to get into Alec's bed. Max was barefooted, wearing only Alec's grey t-shirt and black boxers.

When only silence answered Max's question she looked up to find a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl with one hand on Alec's chest and the other ready to dive into his jeans.

The lady looked surprised at seeing her leaving the steamy bathroom, only wearing male underwear. Alec's underwear, 2C immediately assumed. Her eyes snapped back at him, but this time instead of lust or confusion, they were full of hatred and loathing.

"**This** is your friend? The one who so desperately needed your help? What did she need? A good lay?!" she asked with a screechy tone, as she poked at his chest with her index finger.

"Hey!" exclaimed Max, standing next to the couch. It dawned on her that she was standing in the middle of his apartment, practically half naked, so the situation **did** look that bad. "I'm… gonna give you guys some room," she then said moving towards his room, which didn't really give them much space seeing as there wasn't a door to separate his bedroom from the rest of the apartment… not even a wall; but at least, she was out of sight.

"I can't believe this! You-"

Alec gently pushed her outside and closed the door behind him.

"So, this is what you do," 2C carried on, still with the screechy tone, that was starting to perforate Alec's genetically engineered ear. "If she calls, you just drop anything, anyone, for a booty call?!"

"Look, she's my friend and she needed my help," he explained, although he knew he had nothing to explain.

"Right, so that's why she was prancing around your apartment wearing only **your** underwear? If you ask me, she looks like a skank!"

Max was in his room, out of sight, and there was an entire apartment and a door between them. But thanks to her trained ear and the fact the chick kept screeching every single word from the top of her lungs, the mocha-skinned X5 was able to hear every single crazy comment that the blonde kept spitting at Alec, and Max was ten seconds away from introducing this lady to a world of pain! She heard Alec's deep laugh, one that clearly indicated he had found that funny; Max frowned. She then heard him say in the most serious tone she's ever heard him use: "Look who's talking about being a skank: the girl who was about to bang some random guy two hours after her boyfriend dumped her."

The woman was about to argue his statement, when he carried on, with his arms folded over his chest. "You don't come here and yell at me the way you're doing and insult my friend. I'm not your freaking boyfriend. I'm just a good lay you're never gonna get," he finished that last part with a mocking voice, as his lips rose in a smirk. "So turn around and get the hell off my floor." He unfolded his arms, and then he said, as a second thought: "You know, I kinda pity your ex, putting up with you for so long, just 'cause, what? You're good in bed? He must be a total loser for thinking that."

He closed his door slowly in 2C's face; she remained perfectly still, not knowing what to say. She stared at his door for a solid two minutes and went back to the elevator, and as soon as she reached her apartment she called Richy and begged him to take her back.

Max, still hidden in his room, couldn't help smiling. This explained the perfume she had sensed when she had stepped into his place tonight. He had been with a girl (_total skunk!_) when she had called… _Ew!_ She could just imagine what she had interrupted… _**EW**_ But in his defense, he **had** dropped everything in order to help her. _In his defense? Since when do I defend him?? It's not like he did it out of the goodness of his heart! He totally owes me from all those times I saved __**his**__ ass!_

She heard Alec sigh and mutter something that sounded like 'freak', and, after closing his front door, he sauntered towards his bathroom.

Alec picked up whatever he would need to patch Max up and get the bullet out of her body, as well. Alec got a small bottle of Vicodin and, on his way towards his room, he grabbed a bottle of Scotch—the most expensive bottle he had.

As he entered his door-less room, he found Max leaning her back against the wall, careful not to brush her butt against it. Her eyes were closed and Alec noticed the laceration on top of her left eye was bleeding again, but at least it was clean. Her long, wet hair was now held in a loose pony tail; his t-shirt was a little big for her small frame, but his boxer briefs hugged her waist perfectly. The short sleeves of the t-shirt gave Alec a great view of her tanned arms, now covered by bruises and scratches Alec knew would be gone by tomorrow night. Her legs had suffered a similar treatment; there was a huge black and blue bruise on the side of her right thigh. That one would be gone in two days. No major injuries to the limbs as far as he could see.

"Ok," he spoke, causing her to open her eyes. "I think we should start with the bullet and then with the rest."

Max simply nodded.

"Good, so," he carried on, pointing at his bed with his hand, as he threw a towel at her.

She caught it easily and looked at it for a moment before her eyes snapped back to Alec, an eyebrow raised questioningly. He simply stared back at her and then he moved slightly his head, implying he was waiting for her to get moving.

Max looked nervously at the towel, then at bed and finally back at him, and Alec cocked his head as a thought rushed through his mind. _Is Max really __**that**__ shy? Is she actually nervous that I'll see her ass?_

He rolled his eyes, as he finally understood her strange behavior before taking the shower.

"Max," he suddenly said, "this isn't the first time I've seen a girl's butt, ok?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, feigning confusion so Alec wouldn't realize his interpretation of her actions had been correct.

"That!" he stated as he pointed at her slightly reddened cheeks. "Stop doing that."

"I've no idea what you're talking about, Alec," she spat again.

"We're both adults, ok? It's not like I'm going to molest you or something," he explained, his tone giving away how frustrated by her behavior he was. But his frustration was replaced by cockiness as he added, "Unless you want me to."

Her fist, hard as a rock, connected with his shoulder. This was a more familiar territory; he preferred a pissed off Max any day over a shy, blushing Max. Flirting was the only thing he knew he could do to loosen up shy girls, but flirting was definitely something he would **never **be able to do around Max.

"Here," he simply said, handing her over the bottle of Scotch. She looked at the bottle and then up at him, her left eyebrow curbed questioningly yet again. "It's for you. Take a couple of these." He tossed over the small bottle containing the Vicodin pills.

"Are you sure? Vicodin and alcohol, not a good combination," Max uttered, holding the Scotch in one hand and the Vicodin on the other.

"Considering our high metabolism, I'd say this is the only thing that'll help with the pain while I'm down there."

She decided to ignore his choice of words and swallowed two pills and one big gulp of Scotch. The alcohol burned her throat as it made its way down her esophagus.

Max sighed, resigning herself to the fact she would have to get rid of the comfortable pair of boxers Alec had provided her if she was ever going to get rid of the bullet.

It took some time for the pills and the alcohol, which she kept drinking, to kick in. Max lied on Alec's bed, her butt up while she leaned on her elbows allowing her to keep drinking and look at Alec's work.

"So, what **did** happen?" Alec asked, trying to make some conversation as he cleaned the wound with his sterilized hands and verified the bullet had not gone through too deeply.

Max sighed. She actually appreciated Alec's attempt to casual conversation because this way she could at least imagine this was not really happening, she didn't have to think that while she lied half naked on Alec's bed, he was taking a bullet out of her ass. She almost laughed at that. _Wow, this stuff is good, _she thought as she glanced at the bottle of Scotch.

"Logan asked me to help 'im out with an Eyes Only case. Something about money laundry. I don't know, the point is that I was supposed to do some recon last night, which I didn't, so I went over there tonight," she sighed, bored with the subject already, "and they caught me taking a peek at their dirty business."

"Mmh," Alec simply uttered; his concentration remained on the tweezers he was using to get the bullet out.

Max had to admit Alec was pretty good at this because, even though she was under the powerful soothing effects of the Vicodin, she barely felt as Alec took the little piece of metal out.

She winced a bit and took a big gulp of Scotch, squinting her eyes as the hot liquid went though her throat.

"So, anyway…" she went on, never having mastered the ability to begin a conversation like Alec. "Sorry I messed up your plans with… you know, blondie. I just… Logan wasn't picking up and I didn't have anyone else to call."

Alec smiled, though Max couldn't see it.

"Well, it's always good to hear I'm a solid second choice, Maxie," he teased, making her grin, although he couldn't see it. Then, he added after a few moments of silence: "Besides, you didn't interrupt anything interesting anyway."

Max snorted. "Yeah, right. That's not what it seemed like when I interrupted you guys again."

"Do you really want to talk in detail about my sex life, Maxie?" he stated with a wondering voice that was only meant to annoy her, which it did.

"Hell no! I was just saying," was Max's response.

Once he made sure the wound was clean, he covered it with some gauze.

"Ok, I'm done here. Just be careful," he stated as he covered her butt with the towel again. He saw her trying to stand up, but it seemed to be quite difficult to do as she kept tugging to the towel with one hand while still holding the bottle of Scotch with the other. "Here," he said as he took the bottle and held her arm, helping her getting up from the bed.

He turned around to give her the opportunity to put on his brief boxers again privately.

Max took the bottle of pills again after putting on Alec's underwear and swallowed two more.

She sighed and said under her breath, "My ass is on fire," without even realizing she had said it out loud, as a hot sensation traveled all over he butt.

Alec almost laughed but he remembered that drugged or not, with a hole on her butt-cheek and all, Max could still kick his ass if she set her mind to it.

"Ok, let me see your face now," Alec said, turning back to her.

Max felt confused and lightheaded for a moment as Alec gently led her to his bed again. She wasn't sure why, but she suddenly felt completely aware of Alec's hand slightly holding her bare upper arm, while his other hand lied on the small of her back. She inspected him from the corner of her eye, but there was nothing different about him.

Actually, that wasn't true, because as soon as Alec began working on the cut above her eyebrow she realized two things. One: she'd never been this close to Alec before, and two: he had freckles all over his face. Cute little freckles over his nose and cheeks.

The alcohol and medications helped with the pain as she gingerly sat on the bed.

Max noticed how concentrated Alec was as he cleaned the laceration on top of her eyebrow with antiseptic, and as much as her inner tough chick wanted to slap his hand away and tell him to back off because she could do it herself, she simply let the man do his work.

_He did kick a very willing girl out of his bed to help me out…_

Max suddenly found herself thinking things she would never think or even dare to say out loud. As she stared at Alec, who was obliviously placing clean gauze on the cut above her eye, she realized he wasn't such a bad guy. Granted, he could be an idiot sometimes and his morals were very questionable, but she knew that he would be there in a heartbeat whenever she needed him. In the end, that's all that mattered.

"Oh, crap!" Max suddenly said out loud as a completely random though crossed her mind, taking Alec by surprise.

He was cleaning the scrape on her cheek when she began speaking all of the sudden with an urgent voice.

"My bike!" she said as if Alec would understand her stream of thoughts.

"Huh?"

"My bike, Alec! My bike!" Max replied, making clear that she thought he was an idiot for not understanding her right now. "Oh, crap…" she whispered as she stood, not caring if Alec was done or not.

He watched her begin to pace, wincing every time her weight fell onto her right leg.

"What's the problem with your bike, Max?" he inquired as he stood and stopped her in her tracks.

"I was on my bike when the accident happened! My poor baby is in a ditch somewhere, all scratched and ruined!" she answered, her voice turning into an eardrum-breaking screech.

The male X5 simply stared at her, not believing her motorcycle was her number one priority right now.

"Max, it's just a bike. I'm pretty sure we can get you a new one," he tried to reason with her. He wanted to believe that this was related to the drugs and alcohol he had provided her with, but he knew Max, and therefore he knew this had nothing to do with her current state of slight drunkenness.

"I don't want a new one, Alec," she told him with a murderous stare. "My bike is like… my baby! She's my best friend! Do you think I could exchange Cindy if something ever happened to her? Do you think I could get a new you? What kind of person do you think I am?!"

"Ok, ok. My bad, I'm sorry," he said quickly, trying to calm her. She was definitely not in her right mind at the moment, though it was nice to hear she cared about him to the point of thinking nothing or no one could ever replace him.

"Listen," he carried on. "I'm sure your baby is just fine. We can go get it tomorrow." She looked at him uncertainly, her arms crossed. "Where did the accident happen?" he asked.

"On I-90, about 40 miles from Bellevue, towards Ellensburg. In the forest."

"Well, if the bike ended up in a ditch, it would be good news. No one will be able to see it and it'll be safe there until we get to it. So don't worry." Alec was trying to convince her everything would be ok and that she would be reunited with her bike soon enough. He actually didn't know if what he was saying was true or not, he just didn't want Max to begin a crusade to get back her bike at 4 A.M with a wound such as the one in her butt-cheek. Because, eventually, it would mean **he** would have to begin a crusade at 4 A.M to get Max's bike back. "Ok?"

She sighed in annoyance, obviously hating the fact Alec might be right, and, with her arms still crossed, she answered him with her oh, so famous eye-rolling. "Fine."

Alec smiled, not able to stop himself from thinking of how cute she was when she acted so immature.

Alec realized what he just had thought, and he allowed his eyes to depart from her figure in order to stare at the wooden floor of his bedroom. Clearing his throat and placing his hands in his jeans' pockets, as he always did when he felt uncomfortable or nervous, he said out loud, "You hungry?"

"I could eat something," she replied with a shrug of her shoulder.

"Cool. Just lay down and I'll bring ya something to eat," he uttered, glancing at her quickly and leaving the room just as fast.

Max didn't give his behavior much thought, mainly because she currently found it rather hard to stick to one string of thought. She new the medication and the alcohol Alec had given her were working wonders on her, for all she felt was numbness on her butt. She smiled lazily and got comfortable on his bed, lying on her stomach.

There wasn't much in his fridge, mainly leftovers, but they were good leftovers. Some baked chicken, vegetables, peanut butter, and some bread. He had, at least, three good eggs, and he found, right at the back, some mashed potatoes he had eaten along with the chicken two nights ago.

Alec managed to prepare a couple of chicken sandwiches with some veggies thrown in there. He also heated the mashed potatoes in the old, battered microwave he had gotten from one of his side businesses.

He got one of the biggest glasses he owned and poured fresh milk into it. All this time, he refused to think of the thoughts he had had while helping Max. He refused to think about why he was being so nice to her, when she would've kicked his ass to the curb for getting himself shot if he had been the wounded one. Maybe, just maybe, Max would stop being such a bitch to him. Just maybe, he thought with a sad smile.

He balanced everything on his hands and went back to his room, only to find Max sound asleep. Was it disappointment that washed through him? He wasn't sure, but he didn't like it much.

Alec placed the plate with the food on his night stand and the milk right next to it, and he sat on his bed, his back facing Max. His shoulders slumped and he didn't even know why.

Being close to Max was usually confusing; she usually was self-righteous unless she could get something out of it. She was annoying and her attitude towards her relationship with Logan creeped the hell out of him. You either love someone or you don't. You dump them or not. Max seemed to do both at the same time. She had dumped Logan, told him she was doing Alec, and then she'd gone off to another one of his Eyes Only missions. One would think she would cut the guy out of her life, at least in the beginning, so Logan would get used to the idea of her not being his anymore, because the guy seemed to be as confusing as Max in this aspect. Or maybe, Logan had faith that nothing could really stand in their way. The virus, White, the Transgenic situation seemed like nothing to worry about to the man.

Alec stood up with a sighed and went for his jacket. He needed a walk. He wasn't even tired anymore.

.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸.

Her head felt heavy as well as her eyelids; the bed beneath her, however, was as comfortable as a cloud. Max was lying on her stomach with one hand under her chin, while the other lay on the pillow next to her head. It might not have seemed comfortable, but it was to Max. She managed to open her eyes a bit, enough to realize she was not in her room. As she did every time she woke up on an unfamiliar place, Max tried to stand up with graceful speed but a stabbing pain shot all through her back.

_God, my ass!_ She groaned inside her head as she supported her weight with her arms, trying to ease the pain.

Her ass. Alec. She remembered, as she lied down on the bed again, what had happened the night before. How Alec had helped her with the bullet in her butt; how he had taken care of all her wounds. She looked around, still feeling the remnants of the drugs Alec had provided her with for the pain and hoping to find more of those magic pills. She found the bottle right next to her, on Alec's night table, but it was completely empty.

_Crap._

Max stood up and realized by the light coming from the window that it was about six or seven in the morning. She turned from the window, hoping to see Alec crashing around somewhere in his apartment, but as she leaned on the wall, she found out he wasn't there.

She sighed. _Well, it's Tuesday; he probably went to work_. Max remembered how aware she'd been of Alec just a few hours ago as she spotted a couple of sandwiches and a big glass of milk on the night stand. It was something she really didn't want to ponder about, but she had to hand it to him: he was not such a bad guy.

He had done good, and as much as Max wanted to hate him, dislike him at least, she simply couldn't. She had known for some time now, although she really didn't want to admit it, that Alec was one of the good guys. He was a man-whore, sometimes a sociopath and his morals were quite questionable, but she had to admit he was her friend and she would always save his ass because she knew he would always save hers.

She grinned at the unintentional pun.

_What's going on, Max? You're getting soft._

.¸¸.·´¨»«´¨·. ¸¸.

As Max made her way home, wincing every now and then, she kept thinking what Alec was doing or where he was. She had been half expecting to find him at his place, watching over her. Without her consent, her mind began replaying last night's events; the way Alec had taken care of her and her wounds. She remembered staring at Alec without a slight care about the consequences; the color of his eyes seemed to be printed in her brain for the rest of her life, and the freckles all over his nose and cheeks still made butterflies flutter on her stomach. Or maybe that was the chicken sandwich she had eaten over at Alec's; she wasn't really sure if that chicken had been still good.

The police officer that eyed her sector pass at the Sector checkpoint didn't harass her about the injuries on her face; he simply stared at her with that "_**Damn! What happened to you**_" face people usually made when they were trying to be sympathetic but didn't really care enough to actually ask.

She got home at about 9 A.M, knowing OC would not be home; she also had a job. It seemed that everyone except her were responsible enough to go to work. She could almost hear Normal's complaints about her recent disappearance. Cindy would try to come up with some bizarre explanation for her absence while he threatened to fire Max and probably Cindy, as well.

As she opened the door and made her way in, Max stopped dead on her tracks. The door remained open behind her, her hand still lingering on the door handle. Max's eyes were wide with surprise and she wasn't sure what to do or think.

Her bike stood in the middle of her living-room. It was scratched, deeply dented, and both tires were blown out, but her baby was there.

She blinked for a moment and closed the door, leaving all thoughts of pain behind. Max approached the bike and stroked it slowly, as if it were a wounded puppy. She felt the pain in her butt return slowly but steadily, the magic of finding her bike fading.

"Look at us, baby," she said quietly towards the bike, "we're both a mess."

It was then she realized there was a note on top of her bike's sit, along with a small prescription bottle.

Max picked the pills, knowing then exactly who had brought her bike back and what these pills were. She opened the bottle with one hand and dry-swallowed a couple as she picked the note with the free one.

_You owe me a beer._

_-Alec_

She sighed, rolling her eyes at the butterflies in her stomach.

As she made herself comfortable in her bed, she wondered when she would see Alec again. She would have to stay home a couple of days because of her wounded butt, and she was certain Alec wouldn't show up at Crash for a few days after that. That was just their thing. They usually disappeared from each other's lives for a few days after events such as the one last night.

They were not ready for the bonding and the 'thank you's. She knew she would never give Alec that beer he claimed she owed him. She'd never thank him for what he did last night. They'd never mention this again.

But then again, maybe things were about to change. Or maybe they already had.

**Fin.-**

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